View Full Version : Batty
I am about half way through clearing the garden and am pleased with the way its going . I have left an area witch is under the oak tree as it is a wild patch with blue bells and the like in it , right next to the pond . I was laid on the bank admiring the new view , when i noticed the bats chasing insects a matter of feet above my head . this led me to thinking about putting up a bat box , but i want to build it myself ! Are they basicly a bird box ? Do they need a bar to hang from ?
Is it legal to do ? I know they are very protected .
Cheers
Pumbaa
innocent bystander
21-04-2005, 22:05
sound's legal. Check the rspb site:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/whatyoucando/batbox/index.asp
Motorbike Man
21-04-2005, 22:12
I am about half way through clearing the garden and am pleased with the way its going . I have left an area witch is under the oak tree as it is a wild patch with blue bells and the like in it , right next to the pond . I was laid on the bank admiring the new view , when i noticed the bats chasing insects a matter of feet above my head . this led me to thinking about putting up a bat box , but i want to build it myself ! Are they basicly a bird box ? Do they need a bar to hang from ?
Is it legal to do ? I know they are very protected .
Cheers
Pumbaa
It's totally legal and in fact absolutely fantastic to put up bat boxes and you'll find all the info you could need at The Bat Conservation Trust (http://www.bats.org.uk/) website. Once you have bats nesting, it's a different matter and it becomes illegal to disturb the nest box so make sure that it can stay put without be disturbed. Sounds like you already have a thriving population, sit back and enjoy them. If you do put up a box and it is used, make a point of being up at dawn as the bats return to roost. A bat swarm is a fantastic thing to see :D
EDIT : were the bat's flying low over the water of your pond by the way? and how big did they seem?
EDIT 2 : PM sent :D
We get them in the summer swooping low over the back lawn at dusk to catch insects, in Birmingham incredibly!! I guess they are living in nearby woodland. I'd like to get hold of a frequency transducer thing to listen to them. Fascinating little animals!
Motorbike Man
21-04-2005, 22:27
We get them in the summer swooping low over the back lawn at dusk to catch insects, in Birmingham incredibly!! I guess they are living in nearby woodland. I'd like to get hold of a frequency transducer thing to listen to them. Fascinating little animals!
Jason you'd be surprised where the furry little critters will live these days ;)
My first bat detector was this Magenta kit (http://www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/861.htm) which I built myself. You can also buy it ready built from the excellant Alana Ecology (http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/Magenta_MkIIb_Bat_Detector.htm l) and it really is a superb piece of kit for the money. I also use a Batbox Duet (http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/Batbox_Duet_Bat_Detector.html) which allows me to record bat calls onto a minidisk and hopefully work out what species is what.
These guys have not feed over the water yet , the pond is only half full (still got gardening to do) but there are frogs about as well . Not sure on the species , but i would estimate 3" in body length .
Going back a few years i was lucky enough to see both a long ear and a pipistrel at an old hotel that is only about a mile away so there are some interesting speices localy .
Pumbaa
bombadil
22-04-2005, 00:28
If you want to build a bat box, the design is more or less the same as a bird box, but instead of having a hole in the middle of the face of the box, you make it with a longtitudinal gap about three to four inches high where the face meets the roof. This allows the bats to crawl into it. In addition to this, you need to cut grooves on the exterior face of the box, to facilitate climbing, and preferably something inside for the bats to roost on, (although a bar is not neccessary, grooves on the inside walls will do).
I'll try to find a diagram on the web, but no promises that I'll be able to upload it!
bombadil
22-04-2005, 00:33
Further to my last post, you can find a diagram for the bat box at:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/whatyoucando/batbox/building_the_box.asp
Hope it helps.... :D
demographic
22-04-2005, 18:58
Once when I was putting a roof on a School extension I had a spare half hour so knocked op a couple of birdboxes and one batbox (the area had a load of trees and bats in the area) and used a ladder to bung em in the trees.
Never went back so don't know if they got used or not but hope so :)
i spent the evening last night with my wife bat watching. fantastic creatures :)
We live next to a nature walk with a long straggle of 30 - 40 year old trees along both sides, the moths come out from the trees at dusk attracted to the house lights and the bats peep away flying around the buildings. We call them 'flittermice' here.
Toddy